Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Book Review: Foreign Influence (Scot Harvath Series #9)

 


Foreign Influence, published in 2010, is the 9th book in the Scot Harvath series of thrillers written by Brad Thor. This book has two different plots that run in parallel through most of the book and then intersect at the end. The first plot is the one that Harvath is most involved in. It involves a bombing in Rome that points to Nicholas/The Troll being involved. The second involves a hit-and-run accident in Chicago that leads a couple of cops to an al Qaeda cell planning a series of attacks. The book also introduces a group of characters that will be prominent in the spin-off novel, The Athena Project.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 380 pages and reads like the other books in the series. Like the other books in the series, this one has a good blend of action and suspense. This book does not have as much of the political maneuvering that some of the other books have had (and definitely not as much as the Mitch Rapp series does). Thor definitely seems to be conservative and puts his stamp on the whole torture debate that was raging back around the time this was written. That is as political as he gets, however. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the action thriller/spy novel genre and/or have liked the prior novels in the series, this is worth the time to read.

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